domingo, 31 de maio de 2015

Nudity in the comics

To the foreign eye, Brazil has an odd relationship with nudity. Women will wear bikinis that cover next to nothing, but a topless woman is a scandal.  The usual American reaction to excess skin is "Think of the children!", but in Brazil nudity is not uncommon in comic strips and even children's comic books. 

Laerte's popular "Piratas do Tietê" - the Tietê is a river running through São Paulo - is currently running a series on the Last Judgement.  The Day of Reckoning is announced by a cherubim, who wears no robes (why would an angel need them?) though he does have a navel, which also seems superfluous in an angel. And he's distinctly a "he". 

The vision of the Day of Wrath as being executed on a shoestring, is so unlike anything I've seen before, that I thought I'd translate the strips. The series is a total of seven strips. 

 
The party`s over. Eveyone's gone.
A siren?
What is this? The Last Judgement?
Yes.
You mean it's already the Last Judgment? Already.
This day would come. Dies Irae, dies illa.
That is: they will judge me! You won't be judged, you will judge.
They picked some people by lot to judge and speed up the whole thing.
You'll get a batch to decide who goes to Heaven or to Hell.


Last Judgement underway. Where's the batch of souls that I'll judge?
These are souls?
Pick one and decide: Heaven or Hell?
How cute, who is it? Miss Wilma.
My junior high chemistry teacher? Heaven or Hell.


I was called to help with the Last Judgement. They gave me a lot of souls to analyze and give a verdict. Heaven or Hell.
This is Luis, your best friend in childhood and your first sexual partner.
A few years ago I found Luis on Facebook and he immediately blocked me.

This to Heaven, this to Hell.

PIRATAS DO TIETÊ      LAERTE

It's all right to help with the Last Judgement, taking a batch of souls to judge.
But do they have to all be people I know? Got to be.
How can I be impartial?
You're not doing "Justice" - you're sending people to Hell.
Or to Heaven. What matters is Hell.


PIRATAS DO TIETÊ      LAERTE

When I sentence someone to "Hell", exactly where do they go?
You want to see?


Just a little bit longer.

PIRATAS DO TIETÊ      LAERTE

Judging souls is tiring, deciding who goes to Heaven who goes to Hell. Up to now, you've sent everyone to Hell.
This is the last. Who is it?
Olavo. To Hell, too?

Above "God", what is there?

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